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-<H1 class="no-header">term 5 2023-12-16 ncurses 6.4 File formats</H1>
+<H1 class="no-header">term 5 2024-04-20 ncurses 6.4 File formats</H1>
<PRE>
<STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG> File formats <STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG>
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a></H2><PRE>
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-STORAGE-LOCATION">STORAGE LOCATION</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Storage-Location">Storage Location</a></H3><PRE>
Compiled terminfo descriptions are placed under the directory
<STRONG>/usr/share/terminfo</STRONG>. Two configurations are supported (when building
the <EM>ncurses</EM> libraries):
database otherwise.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-LEGACY-STORAGE-FORMAT">LEGACY STORAGE FORMAT</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Legacy-Storage-Format">Legacy Storage Format</a></H3><PRE>
The format has been chosen so that it will be the same on all hardware.
An 8 or more bit byte is assumed, but no assumptions about byte
ordering or sign extension are made.
b) <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM>,
- c) <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM>,
+ c) <EM>Boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM>,
d) <EM>numbers</EM>,
(2) the size, in bytes, of the <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM> section;
- (3) the number of bytes in the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section;
+ (3) the number of bytes in the <EM>Boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section;
(4) the number of short integers in the <EM>numbers</EM> section;
(6) the size, in bytes, of the <EM>string</EM> <EM>table</EM>.
- The capabilities in the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM>, <EM>numbers</EM>, and <EM>strings</EM> sections
+ The capabilities in the <EM>Boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM>, <EM>numbers</EM>, and <EM>strings</EM> sections
are in the same order as the file <term.h>.
Short integers are signed, in the range -32768 to 32767. They are
the corresponding table.
The integer value -1 is represented by two bytes 0377, 0377.
- Absent boolean values are represented by the byte 0 (false).
+ Absent Boolean values are represented by the byte 0 (false).
<STRONG>o</STRONG> If a capability has been canceled from this terminal, tic stores a
-2 in the corresponding table.
The integer value -2 is represented by two bytes 0377, 0376.
- The boolean value -2 is represented by the byte 0376.
+ The Boolean value -2 is represented by the byte 0376.
<STRONG>o</STRONG> Other negative values are illegal.
the terminal, separated by the "|" character. The <EM>terminal</EM> <EM>names</EM>
section is terminated with an ASCII NUL character.
- The <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section has one byte for each flag. Boolean
+ The <EM>Boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section has one byte for each flag. Boolean
capabilities are either 1 or 0 (true or false) according to whether the
terminal supports the given capability or not.
- Between the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section and the <EM>number</EM> section, a null byte
+ Between the <EM>Boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section and the <EM>number</EM> section, a null byte
will be inserted, if necessary, to ensure that the <EM>number</EM> section
begins on an even byte This is a relic of the PDP-11's word-addressed
architecture, originally designed to avoid traps induced by addressing
a word on an odd byte boundary. All short integers are aligned on a
short word boundary.
- The <EM>numbers</EM> section is similar to the <EM>boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section. Each
+ The <EM>numbers</EM> section is similar to the <EM>Boolean</EM> <EM>flags</EM> section. Each
capability takes up two bytes, and is stored as a little-endian short
integer.
uninterpreted form.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-EXTENDED-STORAGE-FORMAT">EXTENDED STORAGE FORMAT</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Extended-Storage-Format">Extended Storage Format</a></H3><PRE>
The previous section describes the conventional terminfo binary format.
With some minor variations of the offsets (see PORTABILITY), the same
binary format is used in all modern Unix systems. Each system uses a
- predefined set of boolean, number or string capabilities.
+ predefined set of Boolean, number or string capabilities.
The <EM>ncurses</EM> libraries and applications support extended terminfo binary
format, allowing users to define capabilities which are loaded at
First, it reads the extended header (5 short integers):
- (1) count of extended boolean capabilities
+ (1) count of extended Boolean capabilities
(2) count of extended numeric capabilities
The extended string table contains values for string capabilities.
After the end of these values, it contains the names for each of the
- extended capabilities in order, e.g., booleans, then numbers and
+ extended capabilities in order, e.g., Booleans, then numbers and
finally strings.
By storing terminal descriptions in this way, <EM>ncurses</EM> is able to
names with members of a <STRONG>TERMTYPE</STRONG> structure.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-EXTENDED-NUMBER-FORMAT">EXTENDED NUMBER FORMAT</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Extended-Number-Format">Extended Number Format</a></H3><PRE>
On occasion, 16-bit signed integers are not large enough. With <EM>ncurses</EM>
6.1, a new format was introduced by making a few changes to the legacy
format:
(resulting in missing entries). The routine <STRONG>setupterm</STRONG> must be prepared
for both possibilities - this is why the numbers and sizes are
included. Also, new capabilities must always be added at the end of
- the lists of boolean, number, and string capabilities.
+ the lists of Boolean, number, and string capabilities.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Binary-format">Binary format</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Binary-Format">Binary Format</a></H3><PRE>
X/Open Curses does not specify a format for the terminfo database.
System V curses used a directory-tree of binary files, one per terminal
description.
versions. The problem is that there are at least three versions of
terminfo (under HP-UX, AIX, and OSF/1) which diverged from System V
terminfo after SVr1, and have added extension capabilities to the
- string table that (in the binary format) collide with System V and XSI
- Curses extensions. See <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> for detailed discussion of terminfo
- source compatibility issues.
+ string table that (in the binary format) collide with System V and
+ X/Open Curses extensions. See <STRONG><A HREF="terminfo.5.html">terminfo(5)</A></STRONG> for detailed discussion of
+ terminfo source compatibility issues.
This implementation is by default compatible with the binary terminfo
format used by Solaris curses, except in a few less-used details where
different configuration options.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Magic-codes">Magic codes</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Magic-Codes">Magic Codes</a></H3><PRE>
The magic number in a binary terminfo file is the first 16-bits (two
bytes). Besides making it more reliable for the library to check that
a file is terminfo, utilities such as <STRONG>file(1)</STRONG> also use that to tell
uses 01036 as a continuation of that sequence, but with a different
high-order byte to avoid confusion.
-
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-The-TERMTYPE-structure">The TERMTYPE structure</a></H3><PRE>
+ <STRONG>The</STRONG> <EM>TERMTYPE</EM> <STRONG>Structure</STRONG>
Direct access to the <STRONG>TERMTYPE</STRONG> structure is provided for legacy
applications. Portable applications should use the <STRONG>tigetflag</STRONG> and
related functions described in <STRONG><A HREF="curs_terminfo.3x.html">curs_terminfo(3x)</A></STRONG> for reading terminal
capabilities.
-</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Mixed-case-terminal-names">Mixed-case terminal names</a></H3><PRE>
+</PRE><H3><a name="h3-Mixed-case-Terminal-Names">Mixed-case Terminal Names</a></H3><PRE>
A small number of terminal descriptions use uppercase characters in
their names. If the underlying filesystem ignores the difference
between uppercase and lowercase, <EM>ncurses</EM> represents the "first
As an example, here is a description for the Lear-Siegler ADM-3, a
popular though rather stupid early terminal:
- adm3a|lsi adm3a,
- am,
- cols#80, lines#24,
- bel=^G, clear=\032$<1>, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
- cuf1=^L, cup=\E=%p1%{32}%+%c%p2%{32}%+%c, cuu1=^K,
- home=^^, ind=^J,
+ adm3a|lsi adm3a,
+ am,
+ cols#80, lines#24,
+ bel=^G, clear=\032$<1>, cr=^M, cub1=^H, cud1=^J,
+ cuf1=^L, cup=\E=%p1%{32}%+%c%p2%{32}%+%c, cuu1=^K,
+ home=^^, ind=^J,
and a hexadecimal dump of the compiled terminal description:
- 0000 1a 01 10 00 02 00 03 00 82 00 31 00 61 64 6d 33 ........ ..1.adm3
- 0010 61 7c 6c 73 69 20 61 64 6d 33 61 00 00 01 50 00 a|lsi ad m3a...P.
- 0020 ff ff 18 00 ff ff 00 00 02 00 ff ff ff ff 04 00 ........ ........
- 0030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 0a 00 25 00 27 00 ff ff ........ ..%.'...
- 0040 29 00 ff ff ff ff 2b 00 ff ff 2d 00 ff ff ff ff ).....+. ..-.....
- 0050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 0060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 0070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 0080 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 0090 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 00a0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 00b0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 00c0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 00d0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 00e0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 00f0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 0100 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 0110 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
- 0120 ff ff ff ff ff ff 2f 00 07 00 0d 00 1a 24 3c 31 ....../. .....$<1
- 0130 3e 00 1b 3d 25 70 31 25 7b 33 32 7d 25 2b 25 63 >..=%p1% {32}%+%c
- 0140 25 70 32 25 7b 33 32 7d 25 2b 25 63 00 0a 00 1e %p2%{32} %+%c....
- 0150 00 08 00 0c 00 0b 00 0a 00 ........ .
+ 0000 1a 01 10 00 02 00 03 00 82 00 31 00 61 64 6d 33 ........ ..1.adm3
+ 0010 61 7c 6c 73 69 20 61 64 6d 33 61 00 00 01 50 00 a|lsi ad m3a...P.
+ 0020 ff ff 18 00 ff ff 00 00 02 00 ff ff ff ff 04 00 ........ ........
+ 0030 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 0a 00 25 00 27 00 ff ff ........ ..%.'...
+ 0040 29 00 ff ff ff ff 2b 00 ff ff 2d 00 ff ff ff ff ).....+. ..-.....
+ 0050 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 0060 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 0070 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 0080 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 0090 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 00a0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 00b0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 00c0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 00d0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 00e0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 00f0 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 0100 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 0110 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ........ ........
+ 0120 ff ff ff ff ff ff 2f 00 07 00 0d 00 1a 24 3c 31 ....../. .....$<1
+ 0130 3e 00 1b 3d 25 70 31 25 7b 33 32 7d 25 2b 25 63 >..=%p1% {32}%+%c
+ 0140 25 70 32 25 7b 33 32 7d 25 2b 25 63 00 0a 00 1e %p2%{32} %+%c....
+ 0150 00 08 00 0c 00 0b 00 0a 00 ........ .
</PRE><H2><a name="h2-AUTHORS">AUTHORS</a></H2><PRE>
-ncurses 6.4 2023-12-16 <STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG>
+ncurses 6.4 2024-04-20 <STRONG><A HREF="term.5.html">term(5)</A></STRONG>
</PRE>
<div class="nav">
<ul>
<li><a href="#h2-SYNOPSIS">SYNOPSIS</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-DESCRIPTION">DESCRIPTION</a>
<ul>
-<li><a href="#h3-STORAGE-LOCATION">STORAGE LOCATION</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-LEGACY-STORAGE-FORMAT">LEGACY STORAGE FORMAT</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-EXTENDED-STORAGE-FORMAT">EXTENDED STORAGE FORMAT</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-EXTENDED-NUMBER-FORMAT">EXTENDED NUMBER FORMAT</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Storage-Location">Storage Location</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Legacy-Storage-Format">Legacy Storage Format</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Extended-Storage-Format">Extended Storage Format</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Extended-Number-Format">Extended Number Format</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#h2-FILES">FILES</a></li>
<li><a href="#h2-PORTABILITY">PORTABILITY</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="#h3-setupterm">setupterm</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Binary-format">Binary format</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Magic-codes">Magic codes</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-The-TERMTYPE-structure">The TERMTYPE structure</a></li>
-<li><a href="#h3-Mixed-case-terminal-names">Mixed-case terminal names</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Binary-Format">Binary Format</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Magic-Codes">Magic Codes</a></li>
+<li><a href="#h3-Mixed-case-Terminal-Names">Mixed-case Terminal Names</a></li>
<li><a href="#h3-Limits">Limits</a></li>
</ul>
</li>